Monday, March 22, 2010

In a Library

The far corner on the right side
of the first floor of the library
There they are--shelves 9,10,11,12,13
The Literature section
all labelled with "American lit"
"Indian lit", 14th to 20th century lit
musty, yellowed, decaying
books bound in red and brown
faded, crumbling tomes
line my hands with their dust
shelf after long shelf of books
ceiling to floor, wall to wall
here and there, ah relief!
books with shiny, laminated covers
books with glossy, illustrated jackets
books, books, books
and me
lost in a reverie
awed into solemnity
world opens upon new world
in a library.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

you have captured the truth in the last lines ...

Shruti Sareen said...

have I? thanks!!
I like the initial part cos it's the actual description of what it's like and the description itself makes you "feel" it... but I'm glad if the last few lines add to the description rather than take something away from it...

Shruti Sareen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.